The Madrid Ayuntamiento, in English known as the town or city hall is the epicenter of the political and operational running of the great city of Madrid. If you are a visitor from within Spain or a foreigner planning to stay a while in the dreaded it may be worthwhile to check out the services offered by the Madrid City Hall. Most of these services can be found on its website as well. Whether you are looking at residential zoning, renting a flat in Madrid or understanding the different services provided by the local government this is the best way to get your bearings. Let ShMadrid tell you a bit more on the ayuntamiento of Madrid today.
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Index
The Website
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The City Hall website is laid out in a manner that provides a lot of different information all available on the homepage with links to all the subcategories available. There is a tab for quick forms informalities for paying taxes on vehicles in the link for other forms that you may need to live in the city of Madrid. Through the center of the page is also a news section that can keep you up-to-date on the current happenings within the city and at the Madrid Ayuntamiento. On the right-hand side their quick links to public services that include public transportation, air quality, traffic issues and congestion, and even the agenda for City Hall. If you are local resident paying taxes there is also a tax portal for easy payment or rate lookup. On the left side there is the official communication of the counselors of the City Hall including the official newsletter of the city, the Plenum, and information available on the transparency of the local government. Best of all for most citizens is the topics covered in the left-hand side that deal with anything from health and safety, to employment, to living in the city, to culture and leisure, and even sports, education and the economy.
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The Historical Building
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The building that houses the current Madrid Ayuntamiento is a national historic site, was once called the Palacio de Comunicaciones, or Communications Palace. It was the home of the new federal post office, telegraph and telephone. Its construction was first started in 1907 and was completed in 1919. At the time that it was built a large controversies surrounded the fact that it was displacing a large public park and gardens and the citizens were quite upset about the closure of such a public place. The current City Hall was moved into the building in 2007, yet the building was declared a national monument in 1993 and was within the city’s purview since then. As the use of mail has declined the need for such a large structure did so as well and so Madrid City Council consolidated its offices to this location. The Spanish architecture included in the construction is one of the first modernist examples available in the country.
Have you dealt with the Madrid ayuntamiento? Any advice?
